BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom – September 9, 2026: Pakistan arrived at Edgbaston with a reshaped squad, three Test debutants, new coaches and one final chance to produce something meaningful from a series already lost.
By stumps on Day 1, the same problem had returned.
Pakistan were dismissed for 133 in only 33.5 overs, their fifth consecutive total below 200 in the series, before England recovered from 39 for three to reach 156 for four and take a 23-run first-innings lead.
Josh Tongue claimed four wickets, Ollie Robinson and Jofra Archer took three each, and only Saud Shakeel offered sustained resistance with 43 from 47 balls.
Pakistan’s bowlers briefly gave them hope when debutant Razaullah removed Joe Root and later Emilio Gay, but Gay’s 60 and Harry Brook’s unbeaten 52 transformed England’s early wobble into another position of control.
Fourteen wickets fell during the day.
Yet the most important number remained 133.
Pakistan’s batting again gave their bowlers almost no margin for error.
What Was the England vs Pakistan Score at Stumps on Day 1 of the Third Test?
| Team | Score | Overs | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pakistan | 133 all out | 33.5 | First innings complete |
| England | 156/4 | 39 | Lead by 23 runs |
Harry Brook was unbeaten on 52 from 76 balls at stumps, with Dan Lawrence on five from ten.
England therefore ended the opening day already in front despite losing three wickets for 39 early in their reply.
The official ECB series schedule confirms this is the third and final Test of the three-match series, with England already holding an unassailable 2-0 lead.
How Did Pakistan Collapse for 133 at Edgbaston?
The collapse began almost immediately.
England won the toss and chose to bowl, accepting the pressure that comes with sending an opponent in on what initially appeared to be a reasonable batting surface.
That decision was vindicated inside the opening session.
Saim Ayub made a ten-ball duck.
Azan Awais scored nine.
Abdullah Shafique made three.
Shan Masood made five.
Pakistan were 26 for four inside ten overs.
Babar Azam briefly attempted to stabilize the innings with Saud Shakeel, but he was bowled by Tongue for seven from 18 balls.
At 48 for five, Pakistan were already in familiar territory.
They had entered Edgbaston after four consecutive innings below 200 at Headingley and Lord’s.
The new personnel had not changed the batting pattern.
Why Did Pakistan Lose Seven Wickets Before Lunch?
England’s seamers consistently forced Pakistan’s batters to make decisions around off stump.
Robinson supplied control.
Archer provided pace and movement.
Tongue attacked more aggressively once the top order had already been damaged.
Pakistan did not lose seven wickets to one unplayable spell.
They lost them because every England seamer contributed pressure in a different way.
Robinson finished with three for 15 from 11 overs, including five maidens.
Archer took three for 25 from 7.5.
Tongue claimed four for 42 from ten.
Gus Atkinson went wicketless but still played his role in a four-man pace attack that never allowed Pakistan to establish a long partnership.
Pakistan reached lunch at 100 for seven.
By then, the innings was already about limiting damage.
Who Was England’s Best Bowler Against Pakistan on Day 1?
Tongue finished with the most wickets.
His four for 42 included Babar Azam, Ghazi Ghori, Mohammad Imran and Saud Shakeel.
The Shakeel dismissal was particularly important because Pakistan’s only established resistance disappeared with him.
Tongue later told Sky Sports that England’s position allowed him to attack once Pakistan were already four wickets down.
He also explained that his wobble-seam work had developed through discussions and trial and error in the nets.
His assessment of the day was simple: England were in a “really strong position” after dismissing Pakistan so cheaply.
That confidence is understandable.
England had already seen the same batting weaknesses at Headingley and Lord’s.
The Sports Encounter documented how Pakistan entered Lord’s needing far more than Babar Azam’s return after the first-Test collapse.
The warning was not resolved.
Why Was Ollie Robinson’s Spell So Important?
Robinson’s figures were the most economical of the day.
He bowled 11 overs, five maidens, conceded only 15 runs and took three wickets.
That economy rate of 1.36 meant Pakistan could not relieve pressure even when wickets were not falling.
He trapped Saim Ayub lbw, removed Abdullah Shafique and later dismissed Razaullah.
This continues a dominant series for Robinson.
At Lord’s, he took eight wickets in the match, including four for 11 in Pakistan’s first innings.
The Sports Encounter’s Day 2 report from Lord’s detailed how Robinson’s 4/11 helped dismiss Pakistan for only 110.
Pakistan have repeatedly failed to find a way to disrupt his length.
How Important Was Saud Shakeel’s 43?
Shakeel was Pakistan’s only batter to pass 21.
He made 43 from 47 balls with seven fours and scored at a strike rate of 91.48.
That innings provided almost one-third of Pakistan’s total.
More importantly, it briefly gave the innings shape.
Shakeel had already been Pakistan’s strongest batter at Lord’s, where he made 97 in the second innings.
The Sports Encounter highlighted that resistance in our analysis of England’s 194-run victory at Lord’s.
The recurring problem is that Shakeel keeps finding himself batting inside a collapse.
At Edgbaston, the support around him disappeared again.
Why Did Babar Azam Fail Again Against England?
Babar’s seven from 18 balls extends a difficult series.
He missed Headingley through injury before returning at Lord’s with scores of eight and six.
Edgbaston was supposed to be his opportunity to produce the innings Pakistan needed from their captain.
He was bowled by Tongue before reaching double figures.
That leaves Babar with only 21 runs across three innings in the series.
The broader problem goes beyond his personal numbers.
Pakistan needed their captain to provide stability after losing four early wickets.
Instead, another dismissal left Shakeel carrying the innings alone.
Our third Test preview framed Babar’s response as one of the central questions before Edgbaston.
Day 1 did not provide the answer Pakistan wanted.
What Did Pakistan’s Full First-Innings Scorecard Look Like?
| Batter | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saim Ayub | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Azan Awais | 9 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 45.00 |
| Abdullah Shafique | 3 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 18.75 |
| Shan Masood | 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 71.42 |
| Babar Azam | 7 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 38.88 |
| Saud Shakeel | 43 | 47 | 7 | 0 | 91.48 |
| Ghazi Ghori | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 80.00 |
| Mohammad Imran | 5 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 35.71 |
| Razaullah | 11 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Mohammad Abbas | 21 | 36 | 4 | 0 | 58.33 |
| Mohammad Ali | 5* | 19 | 0 | 0 | 26.31 |
| Extras | 20 | ||||
| Total | 133 all out | 33.5 overs | RR 3.93 | ||
What Were England’s Bowling Figures?
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ollie Robinson | 11 | 5 | 15 | 3 | 1.36 |
| Jofra Archer | 7.5 | 2 | 25 | 3 | 3.19 |
| Gus Atkinson | 5 | 1 | 31 | 0 | 6.20 |
| Josh Tongue | 10 | 1 | 42 | 4 | 4.20 |
Why Is Pakistan’s Fifth Consecutive Sub-200 Total So Damaging?
Pakistan’s batting totals in this series now read:
| Venue | Innings | Pakistan Score |
|---|---|---|
| Headingley | 1st innings | 171 |
| Headingley | 2nd innings | 135 |
| Lord’s | 1st innings | 110 |
| Lord’s | 2nd innings | 194 |
| Edgbaston | 1st innings | 133 |
Five innings.
Five failures to reach 200.
The problem is no longer one difficult surface or one outstanding bowling spell.
It is a series-wide batting failure.
England have beaten Pakistan with different seamers, different plans and different match situations.
The Sports Encounter identified this pattern when Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton’s criticism shifted from results toward Pakistan cricket’s wider structure.
Day 1 at Edgbaston strengthens that criticism because Pakistan changed seven players before the Test and still produced the same batting outcome.
Did Pakistan’s Seven Changes Fix Anything?
Not with the bat.
Pakistan reshaped the squad heavily after losing the series at Lord’s.
Seven players were released, seven replacements were called in, and head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul were replaced before the third Test.
The ICC confirmed the overhaul before Edgbaston, noting that Pakistan entered the match at the bottom of the World Test Championship standings with a points percentage of 16.67 percent.
The Sports Encounter examined the upheaval in our report on Pakistan’s collapsing England tour and the PCB’s latest changes.
Three players made their Test debuts at Edgbaston: Ghazi Ghori, Mohammad Imran and Razaullah.
The batting still lasted fewer than 34 overs.
How Did Razaullah Impress on His Test Debut?
Razaullah was one of Pakistan’s few genuine positives.
The debutant bowled with pace approaching 90mph and removed Joe Root with only his fourth delivery in Test cricket.
He later dismissed Emilio Gay for 60.
His nine overs cost 42 runs and brought two wickets.
For a debutant entering a side already 2-0 down and defending only 133, that was an encouraging first examination.
Root’s wicket was especially memorable.
Razaullah trapped the England captain lbw for eight, with a review unable to save him.
Pakistan’s problem was that the breakthrough did not become sustained control.
How Did England Fall to 39 for Three?
Pakistan briefly made the match competitive.
Ben Duckett fell for 11 to Mohammad Ali.
Jordan Cox made four before Mohammad Abbas trapped him lbw.
Razaullah then removed Root.
England were 39 for three after 11.4 overs.
Had Pakistan found another wicket quickly, the first-innings deficit might have remained manageable.
Instead, Gay and Brook changed the match.
How Did Emilio Gay and Harry Brook Rescue England?
Gay and Brook added 104 for the fourth wicket.
The partnership did not begin with reckless counterattacking.
It developed steadily before gaining control.
Gay reached his fifty from 95 balls.
Brook completed his half-century from 70.
They took England from 39 for three to 143 before Razaullah finally bowled Gay for 60.
That partnership was the clearest difference between the two teams.
Pakistan lost early wickets and kept losing them.
England lost early wickets and found two batters capable of stopping the collapse.
That contrast has defined much of the series.
Why Was the Gay-Brook Partnership More Important Than England’s Lead?
The numerical lead at stumps was only 23.
The psychological advantage was considerably larger.
Pakistan had England 39 for three.
They needed to turn that into 60 for four or 80 for five.
Instead, England crossed Pakistan’s entire first-innings total with only four wickets down.
That means Pakistan will begin Day 2 already needing wickets before England’s lower middle order and tail can build a substantial lead.
Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, Archer, Robinson and Tongue are still to come.
Pakistan already saw at Lord’s how damaging England’s lower-order contributions can become.
Our Lord’s Day 1 report documented how Jordan Cox, Jamie Smith and later Gus Atkinson repeatedly rescued England after Pakistan’s bowlers had created opportunities.
Edgbaston has begun with the same structural problem.
What Was England’s Scorecard at Stumps?
| Batter | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Duckett | 11 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 73.33 |
| Emilio Gay | 60 | 114 | 9 | 0 | 52.63 |
| Jordan Cox | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 66.66 |
| Joe Root | 8 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 44.44 |
| Harry Brook | 52* | 76 | 4 | 0 | 68.42 |
| Dan Lawrence | 5* | 10 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Extras | 16 | ||||
| Total | 156/4 | 39 overs | RR 4.00 | ||
What Were Pakistan’s Bowling Figures on Day 1?
| Bowler | Overs | Runs | Wickets | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mohammad Abbas | 14 | 37 | 1 | 2.64 |
| Mohammad Ali | 10 | 49 | 1 | 4.90 |
| Razaullah | 9 | 42 | 2 | 4.66 |
| Mohammad Imran | 6 | 18 | 0 | 3.00 |
What Did Josh Tongue Say After Day 1?
Tongue described England as being in a strong position after dismissing Pakistan for 133.
He said the pitch initially looked good for batting, which made England’s bowling performance more satisfying.
He also acknowledged the small amount of pressure England accepted by choosing to bowl first.
Tongue explained that entering the attack with Pakistan already four wickets down allowed him to bowl a more attacking line and length.
He joked that one yorker was accidental, saying it had slipped out, and discussed his continuing work on wobble-seam bowling.
He also said five days without bowling after Lord’s had helped manage his workload before the Edgbaston Test.
Looking ahead, Tongue expects the pitch to become increasingly difficult later in the match, suggesting lower bounce may become more prominent by Days 3 and 4.
What Did Babar Azam Say Before the Edgbaston Test?
Babar had urged Pakistan to play with greater freedom before the match.
The ICC reported his pre-match message as Pakistan attempted to respond after two heavy defeats and a major squad reshuffle.
The intention was understandable.
The execution was not.
Pakistan’s top order looked neither free nor secure.
Five batters were dismissed before the score reached 50.
How Does Day 1 Compare With Pakistan’s Headingley and Lord’s Defeats?
The worrying answer is that very little has changed.
England won the first Test by an innings and 103 runs.
They won the second by 194 runs.
The ICC’s pre-Test series update confirmed England entered Edgbaston 2-0 ahead and Pakistan remained at the bottom end of the World Test Championship standings.
Pakistan’s response to those defeats was dramatic.
The PCB changed personnel.
The coaching staff changed.
The wicketkeeper changed.
The attack changed.
The batting outcome did not.
Why Is Pakistan’s Batting Crisis Bigger Than One Selection?
Repeated collapses across five innings make it increasingly difficult to blame one combination.
Pakistan have used experienced players.
They have used younger players.
They have changed leadership.
They have changed coaches.
The same technical problems remain visible.
Batters are being dismissed before partnerships become established.
One player occasionally produces resistance, but the innings around him continues to disappear.
This is why criticism of Pakistan’s tour has moved beyond individual scores.
The Sports Encounter’s earlier analysis of the criticism from Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton focused on institutional instability rather than merely poor form.
Edgbaston has added another piece of evidence to that argument.
Was Razaullah Pakistan’s Biggest Positive on Day 1?
Yes.
Shakeel’s batting deserves recognition, but Razaullah’s debut offered something Pakistan badly needed: evidence of a young player bringing genuine energy into the side.
He bowled quickly.
He dismissed Root.
He later removed Gay after the fourth-wicket stand crossed 100.
He did all of that while defending a first-innings total of only 133.
His challenge now is consistency.
One exciting first spell should not become another moment Pakistan cricket celebrates without developing properly.
What Does England Need to Do on Day 2?
England’s objective is straightforward.
Bat Pakistan out of the match.
The hosts already lead by 23.
Brook is established on 52.
Lawrence remains at the crease.
Smith and a long lower order are still to come.
If England can build a lead beyond 150, Pakistan would face another enormous psychological and technical challenge in the second innings.
England do not need to chase rapid runs immediately.
They need to make Pakistan bowl for long enough that the first-innings collapse becomes increasingly expensive.
What Does Pakistan Need on Day 2 to Stay in the Test?
Early wickets.
There is no complicated answer.
Pakistan need Brook quickly.
They then need to expose England’s lower order before the lead grows beyond manageable proportions.
If Brook and Lawrence survive the opening hour, Pakistan’s path back into the Test becomes considerably narrower.
The bowlers have already done enough to show that wickets are available.
The batting has given them almost no room to make mistakes.
Frequently Asked Questions About England vs Pakistan Day 1
What was Pakistan’s first-innings score at Edgbaston?
Pakistan were bowled out for 133 in 33.5 overs.
What was England’s score at stumps?
England reached 156 for four in 39 overs and led Pakistan by 23 runs.
Who took the most wickets for England?
Josh Tongue took four for 42.
How many wickets did Ollie Robinson take?
Robinson claimed three for 15 from 11 overs.
How many wickets did Jofra Archer take?
Archer finished with three for 25.
Who top-scored for Pakistan?
Saud Shakeel made 43 from 47 balls.
How many runs did Babar Azam score?
Babar scored seven from 18 balls before being bowled by Josh Tongue.
Who top-scored for England on Day 1?
Emilio Gay made 60, while Harry Brook finished unbeaten on 52.
Who did Razaullah dismiss on his Test debut?
Razaullah dismissed Joe Root for eight and Emilio Gay for 60.
How many consecutive innings has Pakistan failed to reach 200 in this series?
Pakistan have now failed to reach 200 in all five innings of the series.
Final Verdict: Pakistan Changed the Team, England Saw the Same Weakness
Pakistan came to Edgbaston after an emergency rebuild.
Seven players had been released.
New coaches had arrived.
Three men made Test debuts.
The innings lasted 33.5 overs.
That is the hardest part of Day 1 for Pakistan to explain.
The personnel changed.
The outcome did not.
Shakeel resisted.
Razaullah impressed.
Those were real positives.
England still finished the day ahead.
Gay and Brook showed what Pakistan’s batting had repeatedly failed to produce throughout the series: a partnership that absorbs pressure and then changes the match.
Pakistan have four days remaining to prevent a 3-0 sweep.
After Day 1, they are already chasing the game again.
Readers can follow the remainder of the Test and the wider series through The Sports Encounter Cricket Hub.
